Hull boss Steve Bruce wants five or six players for next season's European campaign

WE NEED MORE: Steve Bruce wants more players to compete in next season's Europa League [GETTY]

The Tigers manager claims he needs to bring in five or six new players to help his squad cope next season in a campaign which will feature European football for the first time.

He's interested in Seb Larsson at former club Sunderland, who is out of contract, and another free transfer target is Shola Ameobi. Fellow Newcastle player Steven Taylor, who could be available for £3m, is also on the radar.

Bruce does not regard the Europa Cup next season as a silver lining following the Wembley heartache - more like a dark cloud on the horizon.

He reckons that despite guiding the Tigers to promotion a year ago and then masterminding a first-ever Cup final appearance, they are ill-equipped for their new venture which will start with a qualifier on July 31.

"I think we've got four European games by the end of August and for a club like ours, I don't think we're ready for that," he said.